Saree Is A Source Of Strength And Self-Expression For Researcher Nikaytaa From Pune

IWB Post

October 23, 2018

Free, bold, versatile, gender fluid are many aspects of the saree that are yet to be explored. Bringing all of these aspects out of the can is researcher Nikaytaa from Pune.

Once shying away from wearing a saree, she now wears it daily with different drapes. Working as a freelance Impact Assessment Consultant, she also runs her brand Indian Draping Company, that basically is an anthology, researching about the saree. She also takes workshops to teach about it.

In an enlightening conversation with Nikaytaa, we learned that the saree is not only a way to express herself but is also a source of strength for her. In fact, she grabs one of her nani or mom’s sarees when life takes a toll on her.

Read excerpts from the conversation:

Nikaytaa, take us back to the first time you wore a saree.

The first time I wore a saree was when I was about 5 or 6 years old. So, basically, my younger sister and I were playing where I roleplayed as a librarian wearing mom’s saree. Now, we’ve always seen a library where Gandhi’s photo is hung on a wall and often with a garland on it. To make it a real setup we put a garland on our mother’s picture. And, when she walked in, she took minutes to understand why her daughters were being this cruel to her.

The first time was a part of childhood games but now you wear the six-yard everywhere and anywhere. Tell us more about this.

I learned to wear the saree after I got married. And, somehow, I have always had a love-hate relationship with it up until I found out it can be worn without petticoat and blouse and in so many drapes. The total love relationship with saree started after I took up the 14-day challenge to get perfect at wearing the Nivi drape. After the 14 days got over, I felt satisfied and felt, “I have finally arrived.”

Since then you have explored so much about the drape – its history, the different draping styles, origin, everything. Which is the one current narrative about the saree that is missing in India?

The age-old ideology around saree needs to reform. We need to realize that we’re still holding onto the 100 years old idea about the drape. The common saree drape – Nivi – is not the traditional saree today, it is a 100 years old ideology. In fact, if we see, blouse and petticoat were never really part of our drapes. They were gradually added for Indian women to fit in the social circles to abide by how the British saw their women – head to toe covered. One needs to wear other drapes to feel the freedom what our ancestors felt.

54 Likes, 8 Comments – Nikaytaa (@nikaytaa) on Instagram: “Thank you for the guesses folks! @mrooverino got it right by guessing it has to be a Saree 😬 and…”

So, how do you wish the saree to be represented in India?

I want it to be represented as it is – one of the most fluid, versatile, and androgynous styles that ever existed. How it was before the British arrived – functional and genderless.

Speaking of genderless, elaborate more on the saree’s unisex aesthetics.

Saree’s gender-fluid characteristic actually plays a big role in feminism. There are so many different styles of drapes that can be worn by men. It’s comfortable, it’s breezy, and it holds our true traditions. The thing is we need to bring equality in clothes as well if we want feminism to work completely. Men are ridiculed when they wear women’s clothes but we are not when we wear theirs.

A point to be given more thought to, definitely. Coming to the various styles of drapes that you have now mastered, tell us about the drape that you took time to learn?

It’s the Venuka Gundaram drape. I learned the drape when I trained under Rta Kapur Chisti, researcher and author of ‘Sarees of India’ – one of the most comprehensive books on the history and evolution of the garment in India. And, now I find it so easy and it is my favourite too.

78 Likes, 9 Comments – Nikaytaa (@nikaytaa) on Instagram: “”I can hear dins of laughter adorning every thread. Speaking about the wedding coming up or the…”

On that note, give us a tour of India through three different drapes.

I’ll start with my favourite drape, Venuka Gundaram from Andhra Pradesh. The drape is generally worn by the agricultural community. According to me, it tells how the women prefer freedom. It’s open from the front and pleats are at the back.

The second one is Dhokna Jalpaigudi from West Bengal. This one looks like a short dress with no sleeves, so can be made into a tube dress as well. It doesn’t need a blouse or bra and it’s perfect for me. This is a no-nonsense drape worn by the Tribal community.

The third one will be Sambalpuri drape, which is an Odissi dancer drape. This one is very fluid, versatile, and comfortable.

Incredible India, indeed!

Tell us about your biggest adventure in saree.

My road trip from Pune to Goa last year was an adventure in every sense. Firstly, after 14 years of experience in driving, I drove alone for a such a long distance for the first time. Secondly, I put my daily saree usage to test. My fear of it falling off during the journey was saved and I was so happy that I didn’t have to adjust for 12 hours.

54 Likes, 15 Comments – Nikaytaa (@nikaytaa) on Instagram: “Yesterday was my first solo road trip to Goa. I had been very anxious leading up to the day. What…”

Nikaytaa, what role does the saree play in promoting body positivity?

Saree is a flattering outfit and every body deserves to be flaunted in it. However, if you’re not comfortable wearing the Nivi drape, go for the other hundreds of drapes. For example, the bogigili posi kattukodam drape from Andhra Pradesh is quite perfect.

A fashion blogger who has cracked the code of saree?

Tanaya Das from Australia. She wears sarees in all sorts of ways. What I can learn from her Instagram and blog is that she wears saree to express herself and she doesn’t conform to social rules.

Before we wrap up, we’re in 2018 but what is the stigma that is still attached to a saree?

That in order to gain acceptance from the society, you have to wear it in a particular way with petticoat and blouse. Another stigma is that saree is not for men. Like, one of my male friends went saree shopping for himself in Bengaluru and when he told the salesman about it, he asked him to leave.